People with inflammatory bowel disease [ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD)] have a high colon cancer risk. Conventional treatment of colitis can reduce periods of active disease and maintain remission, but treatment outcomes are often marginal;patients become refractory;and there are dangerous side effects. Thus, complementary and alternative treatments remain promising for abating symptoms of active disease. An estimated 40% of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients use some form of megavitamin therapy or herbal/dietary supplement. Resveratrol (3,4',5-Trihydroxy-trans-stilbene) is a naturally occurring polyphenol that exhibits pleiotropic health beneficial effects including anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, cardioprotective and anti-cancer activities. It is quickly being recognized as one of the more promising natural molecules in the prevention and treatment of cancer. We and one other group have demonstrated that oral administration of resveratrol alleviates colitis in animals. These studies have provided the first proof-of-principle demonstration that resveratrol may be effective in the treatment of IBD, and we now hypothesize that this will prevent the subsequent development of colon cancer. These studies should provide important new data that will determine if this natural compound provides a new and safe approach that will be useful in preventing the development of colon cancer.